Friday, May 13, 2016

Are all sins equal? (Bible Questions and Answers #1)

I’ve
decided to start a blog series on Bible Questions that people ask me.Here’s the first one:

Question:Are all sins equal, or are some sins greater
than others?

Answer:In some ways all sins are equal, but in other
ways they are different.

It
is true that without the grace of God shown in Christ Jesus any sin would cause
us to be condemned and to miss out on eternal life.Jesus said,

NIVMatthew
5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as
your heavenly Father is perfect. (Also see 1 Peter 1:15-16, Galatians 3:10, and
James 2:10-11)

Another way in which sins are
equal is that even very serious sins like murder and adultery can be completely
forgiven by God.

However, the Bible makes it
clear that there are ways in which some sins are worse than other sins.

1.)Jesus specifically says that someone is
guilty of a “greater sin:

NIVJohn
19:11 Jesus answered, "You
would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore
the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

When Jesus says “the one who
handed me over to you” He might have been talking about Judas, or He might have
been talking about the Jewish High Priest.Either way, Jesus explicitly mentions a “greater sin”.

2.)Jesus indicates that some commandments are
less important than other commandments:

NIVMatthew
5:19 Therefore anyone who sets
aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and
teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

3.)Jesus teaches that even though details like
tithing on things of small value are important, these types of actions are not
equally important as other parts of God’s will:

NIVMatthew
23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-- mint,
dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--
justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without
neglecting the former.

4.)Jesus also taught that the punishment for
some sins is worse than for other sins:

Luke 12: 47
"The servant who knows the master's will and does not get ready or does
not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.

48 But the one who does not know
and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From
everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who
has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

5.)God shows Ezekiel a series of sinful actions,
each of which is worse than the preceding ones:

NIVEzekiel
8:6 And he said to me, "Son
of man, do you see what they are doing-- the utterly detestable things the
Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But
you will see things that are even more detestable."

NIVEzekiel
8:13 Again, he said, "You
will see them doing things that are even more detestable."

NIVEzekiel
8:15 He said to me, "Do you
see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than
this."

If all sins were the same, it would make no sense for God to show Ezekiel a series of sins and to tell Ezekiel that each sin he was shown was "more detestable" than the previous sins.

More
examples could be given, but these are enough to show that God does view some
sins as more serious than others.But,
since any sin would keep us out of Heaven (if it were not for God’s grace in
Christ), what do we mean when we say some sins are more serious than
others?It turns out that there are some
very important and practical reasons to understand that while all sin is
serious, not all sin is equally serious.

1.Some sin displeases God more than other sin.

2.God will discipline us more severely in this
life for some sins than for other sins.

3.While no leader is perfect, the Bible clearly
teaches that moral character is the most important quality for choosing leaders
(see Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3).Thus, we
need wisdom in discerning which types of sins disqualify someone from being a
leader in the church. This principle should also be applied to choosing
political leaders.

4.Sometimes we should just be patient and
overlook someone’s sin (Proverbs 19:11; 1 Peter 4:8).However, sometimes we should gently yet
firmly discuss someone’s sin with them in order to help them get free (James
5:20).And sometimes a sin is so serious
that we should take church discipline against someone if they will not repent
(Matthew 18:15-17). Not all sins are equally serious and therefore not all sins call for the same type of response.

5.)Every Christian longs to become more and more
like Jesus.Yet none of us are perfect
yet.Knowing that some sins are more
serious than others can help us to prioritize which areas of our life we need
to work on the most.Of course, this
should never be an excuse for sinning.

Finally,
I want to point out that the seriousness of sin does not depend only on the
specific sinful action.One important
factor is who is committing the sin.A
brand new Christian getting upset and letting a cuss word fly is not as serious
as a pastor or Bible teacher doing the same thing.As we grow in Christ, God holds us to higher
standards and sins which He would have overlooked in a new believer can bring
painful discipline in the life of a mature believer.God also considers the motives of a person’s
heart. Having “good motives” can never make a sin not a sin.But having evil motives can turn even an
apparently good action into a serious sin in God’s eyes.

Conclusion

If
someone is talking about getting into Heaven, it is true that any sin would
disqualify us. That is why we are so thankful that we have a Savior – Jesus Christ.
Because of the sacrifice of Christ, all your sins can be completely
forgiven. In these ways, “all sin is the same”.

But
in many other situations it is wrong and misleading to say “all sin is the same”.Sometimes people say “all sin is the same” or
“nobody’s perfect” to argue that we should not take into account a person’s sin
when considering who to choose as a leader.That’s wrong.The Bible clearly
teaches that we should take into account a person’s character and past sinful
choices when choosing leaders.In this
situation, and also when it comes to deciding on how to respond to a neighbor’s
sin, all sin is not the same.

I
don’t have all the answers, but with God’s help I will respond to as many
questions as possible.In some cases I
may respond to you privately. In other cases, if it is appropriate, I’ll
respond in a blog post like this one.I
won’t identify who asked the question unless you want me to.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .

1 comment:

Mark, these words are mentioned several times in the OT., "are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel”My question is :Is there a record of this book in existence or is this another symbol of something else. Just curious to know. Thanks,Anne